The Fall of Baghdad Paperback – Import, 27 September 2005

I have read many war zone books. Other than “No Good Men Among the Living” I can’t think of one as intense as this. Anderson goes about his war correspondent life, moving hotels as needed, driving to neighborhoods all around Baghdad, talking to senior people in the Saddam government, and overall giving the most nuanced and thoughtful Iraqi perspective of the war. It’s clear an opportunity was missed to rebuild the country. Instead we pushed too hard and made enemies, resulting in a far more costly and deadly war than might have been the case.

heavy read still don't understand

This work depicts the reality of the latest Iraq war, rather than the hyperbole often used to sell and maintain the conflict. It would be worth reading if only as a vaccination against media that enthusiastically markets simple slogans in lieu of lethal reality. It stands as a prudent warning to those who think poly-sci term papers can painlessly remake the world.